Scare Me if You Can
by tmwillson3
Summary: One-shot, Halloween story. Both Bog and Marianne participate in a Halloween skit contest. They meet afterwards, to discover that both consider themselves master scarers. Their competitive nature kicks in, and they decide to have a contest to see who is the best. Nothing quite goes as expected. Butterfly Bog and Potionless


Scare Me if You Can

 **Author's Disclaimer: I don't own Strange Magic, or any of the songs I mention. All rights go to their respective owners. This is a SUPER late Halloween story, so apologies for the lateness. But, I wanted to do it in honor of the great holiday and the fact that it's my sister's birthday. Here's another modern human AU for you all. I hope you enjoy the Halloween silliness!**

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"And now it's time for our final two entries in our Spooktacular Song Skits Competition! Our first group is performing the classic, 'Purple People Eater'. Give them a hand, or two, or three!"

The Boris Karloff impersonator was trying so hard to be funny, it was bad. Bog wanted to groan every time the MC announced the next group. He was glad that the contest was finally ending, and that his group would be last. They were sure to win.

Bog watched with amusement as the group of three headed onto the stage. One girl was dressed as a blue alien, with antennae and blue makeup all over her body, bouncing all over the stage. Bog never wanted to interact with such a hyper human being.

A short male then ambled onto the stage in a papier mache alien head with one eye opening and a long cylinder on top. The rest of his costume was pretty standard alien ware with his matching gloves and boots to make him look like he had webbed hands and feet, and then he was wearing short shorts. Bog was entertained by the little guy and how awkward he seemed as he tried to position himself onstage.

Finally, a person walked onstage in a purple body suit with wings. It was hard to say what gender the person was, as the suit was padded well, but the person sure walked (more like stomped) onto the stage.

Once the purple person was situated, it started to hum and beat box, with the other two soon joining in for an acapella version of "Purple People Eater", the blue alien narrator switching singing duties with the purple people eater for the duration of the song.

Bog was amazed.

He was even more surprised when the purple people eater pulled the cylinder off his head, revealing a clarinet. The short guy then proceeded to play the clarinet perfectly and shake his booty in his short shorts as much as possible. It was truly a sight to witness.

By the end of their act, all were applauding madly for the little group. Stuff and Thang cheered the loudest, much to Bog's embarrassment. He covered his face with one of his hands in a look of unbelief until he saw that the purple person was unzipping the suit from the back.

With a clumsy wiggle, the person revealed herself to be a woman, and a fine looking woman at that. Petite and dark-haired, she was the first punk fairy he had ever seen.

Bog was in deep trouble.

"Boss? You ready?" asked Thang expectantly with just a hint of worry after having to ask Bog twice before Bog acknowledged him.

"Yes, yes, let's do this and win already. I'm tired of the poorly voiced MC this year."

Further away, Dawn floated over to Sunny and hugged him as hard as she could. When she released him, much to Sunny's sadness, she said, "Oh, Sunny, you were amazing! You did _such_ a good job up there."

"Aww, thanks, Dawn. You were pretty amazing singing as well," said Sunny as he blushed and stared at his feet.

A moment later, Dawn's attention left Sunny, and he inwardly cursed himself for not saying something yet to Dawn about his feelings. When would he be able to tell her?

Dawn's attention had turned to her sister, Marianne. Marianne was glad to be out of the confining body suit, but she did not want to hug her sister and get the impossible-to-get-out blue body paint all over herself.

"Marianne, weren't we awesome up there?" exclaimed Dawn, her voice rising two octaves as she spoke and jumped up and down.

"Yes, fantastic! We're sure to win now!"

"Oh, Marianne," said Dawn as she calmed down, "why must it always be about winning? Why not just having fun?"

"You know how I am, Dawn," Marianne said, tilting her head slightly with a knowing look. "It's always a game for me. It's a competition, for goodness sake!"

Dawn shook her head good-naturedly before running back to Sunny, and Marianne sized up her competition. So far, no one had been good.

"And now, ghouls and gals, the moment you've all been waiting for! Here's the winner of last year's competition, with a brand new song to make us scream. Give it up for 'The Monster Mash'!"

Suddenly, the room went dark, making Dawn squeal and latch onto Sunny, much to his delight.

For several moments, people murmured until the sound of chains rattling could be heard in the background. A spotlight appeared amidst the quickly rising fog, the music growing louder as a lone figure in a white lab coat seemed to float and land down on top of the stage. His gaunt, sharp face was only made spookier by the makeup he wore.

Then he began to sing, and Marianne realized why his group always won. Now that man could sing!

It did not help that he was able to sing just like Bobby "Boris" Pickett. When he started to sing about what his eyes beheld, he threw something at the stage, causing a small bang to be heard, and the fog changed color.

When the color cleared, another figure dressed as a very short, Zombie Frankenstein appeared with his arms out. He made moaning noises and walked awkwardly onstage, making everyone laugh especially hard as he stumbled and tried to dance. Even Marianne laughed at his antics as he wobbled about like a penguin.

At the beginning of the next verse, the singer threw down another color, making Zombie Frankenstein disappear with a bang, and a Zombie Vampire appeared, she running as fast as her stubby little legs could carry her, rushing to various edges of the stage. She would growl into people's faces, or sometimes pretend to bite willing participants, everyone getting into it as she kept on coming towards them. Whenever she got close to Dawn, Dawn squeaked and rushed behind Sunny.

When the next verse came, the vampire disappeared in a flash of color to bring back the short dude, only this time dressed as a zombie werewolf, complete with many a poorly timed and sounding howl. The singer would make faces and silently asked his audience about the wolf's howls by using his thumbs.

All cheered when he put his thumb down, making the werewolf disappear.

The woman who had played a vampire now appeared with a hunchback and black cloak, pretending to be Igor. Marianne enjoyed watching the woman freestyle dance onstage, dancing however the music moved her. Apparently, the rest of the audience did, too.

At the next verse, and for the rest of the song, Igor was joined by a tiny Dracula, him looking upset at first, but soon joining Igor in freestyle dancing onstage. Bobby Pickett continued to sing until his two cohorts motioned toward him, and he grabbed a guitar to rock out, stealing the show with his guitar playing and singing.

Needless to say, Marianne was jealous. She also hated him.

She hated him more when his group won again.

After Marianne's group won second, she was ready to leave. Dawn and Sunny planned to stay, but she was worn out and did not want to see the smug look on Bog's face as he towered over everyone. But then, there he was, walking toward her with a smug grin at first. When he got close, his look became much more uncertain, and Marianne wondered if she was scowling too much to make him act thusly.

Little did Marianne realize that Bog had without thinking started walking toward the punk fairy. Only when he realized where his footsteps were leading him did he start to slow down and worry, as Bog had problems talking to women. They responded in one of two ways: disgust or fear.

But it was too late now, and he was already close to the gorgeous fairy. He had to talk to her now or else look even more awkward than he already did.

"Hi," he said, immediately hating himself for saying something so mundane.

"Hi," said Marianne, at a loss of what to say to him. She was confused by him, and she still was thinking about his voice. His earlier singing voice was forgotten as she heard him say more with his Scottish brogue.

"So this is your first time competing? It was pretty good, for a newbie."

Was that a challenge? Marianne could feel herself stiffen and narrow her eyes just a little.

"Not all of us are seasoned pros who play the audience so well, drama king."

Marianne almost wanted to take back what she said, as he might have had good intentions behind that first remark. But then he squinted his eyes and stood a little taller, puffing out his chest. Marianne no longer had any regrets at watching him take offense.

"That's Bog King to you, Miss-"

That was when Marianne realized that his name was Bog, and that he was trying to find out her name. She floundered briefly before responding, "Fairfield. Marianne Fairfield."

"Yes, well, you're clearly not unaccustomed to audiences either, since you can beatbox like a pro. Have you been doing that for a long time?" Bog asked, genuinely curious.

"Since high school. My father thought it was unladylike to do. Then I proved to him how awesome it was by joining an acapella group in college. He's slowly changing his tune," replied Marianne, lifting a hand up as though to say it were no big deal.

Both laughed awkwardly at Marianne's attempt at a joke. Marianne was glad to get that in, so that she would not think about the reason why she had joined an acapella group to begin with, Roland. He was a beast from the past, and that was where he would remain, in the past.

Bog drew closer and continued, "And is Halloween one of your favorite holidays? Is it your reason to put together this little show, or is it just your competitive nature?"

"It's a little of both, I suppose," answered Marianne, growing introspective. "Do you enjoy Halloween as well?"

"Yes, it's the one time of year I'm allowed to dress in odd clothes and not naturally be repugnant and scary to all. I'm allowed to scare people, and I enjoy it to no end, scaring everyone," he said proudly.

"Oh really?" asked Marianne, sensing a competition brewing. She swung her hips a little before placing her hands on her hips. "Are you the best scarer around?"

Before Bog could answer, his two friends from the show appeared next to him and answered excitedly.

"He's the best! No one can scare him, and he can scare anyone, anywhere!"

"They sum it up well," said Bog smugly. He added a teasing tone to his words as he added, "Why? Are you better at it, Tough Girl?"

Bog was having way too much fun talking to this woman. She was beautiful, competitive, talented, had a sense of humor, and most importantly, she had not run away from him yet. In fact, she seemed to enjoy talking to him. He could not help but try to egg her on with teasing. She took it like the competitive person she was.

"You bet I'm better at scaring. Isn't that right, Dawn and Sunny?" replied Marianne, bringing forth the curious pair who had been watching Bog and Marianne interact with interest.

"Yes, Marianne's by far the best! She scares me all the time!" shouted Dawn, trying to support her older sister.

"Marianne is impossible to scare, too! I've tried so much and always failed," added in Sunny, standing next to Dawn.

"It seems to me that we have two master scarers here. We need a contest to determine who the best one is. Loser buys the other a drink. Deal?" asked Bog, putting out his hand.

"You're on," replied Marianne, grabbing Bog's outstretched hand and squeezing hard without thinking.

It was only after the two separated that Marianne wondered why Bog had insisted that the loser buy the other one a drink. What did he mean by that? Was he interested in her?

The two went their separate ways, plotting their strategies. Marianne struck first, trying to tap him on the shoulder. She failed, especially when she saw Bog smile at her and almost grabbed her hand. Bog had been too pleased by the idea of Marianne being willing to touch him for him to think about being scared.

Bog tried next from the shadows, leaping out at Marianne after she came out of the women's bathroom. She took it all in stride, as that was an old trick she had played on Dawn on many an occasion. She was surprised that he had thought of it, too, but she was pleased that they thought similarly. Bog stalked off in disgust before she could make such a comment.

Bog tried again, this time by putting red food dye in her water. Some women did not like blood, but Marianne was not one of those girls. She just rolled her eyes at him. Bog hmphed and disappeared from Marianne's side before she could dump it on him. Was it bad that Marianne wanted to see Bog in his white lab coat wet and covered in red water? Of course not.

Marianne tried to scare Bog by standing really close to him over his shoulder with a strange, owlish look. When Bog noticed, he leaned in and hissed, saying, "Scare me if you can."

After that, the two began to talk to one another, telling more about themselves. It was easy to talk to one another, and both were running out of ideas of how to scare the other. This was just better and easier. It helped because then they could watch the other in case they did try something else.

At some point, both lost sight of their friends, and they began to wander about the packed room, everyone dancing in their costumes. The pair wanted to find a quiet place to talk, so they went to the front of the room, sitting on the back end of the stage, near a curtain. They had gotten back on the reasons why they loved Halloween.

"I've always loved Halloween; it was my mother's favorite holiday. She would put on a different cool costume every year. She'd go all out, with makeup, wigs, and decorations. Then she'd put on music and encourage me to sing with her," said Marianne as she remembered her mother.

Her eyes glazed over, and a smile appeared on her face. Bog watched, captivated by her.

"I always loved singing with her," continued Marianne, "and one time, she asked me to try to make the sounds heard in the song. I like to think that was me preparing for joining an acapella group," laughed Marianne.

"I bet. Your mother sounds wonderful, compared to mine. All mine does is complain about me and my single state."

"At least you have your mother," answered Marianne, looking sad. "I lost my mother when I was young. I'll always treasure Halloween for that reason. I loved singing in honor of my mother, and my father seemed to like it. But then one day-"

Marianne cut herself off, knowing where the tale would go. Towards Roland. But then she saw the concerned look on Bog's face, as though he understood.

"But something, or someone stopped you from enjoying it? Who was it? Your father? I, I, admit that I've felt similarly because of how I've been treated in the past. It's not right," said Bog. He saw the concerned face of Marianne, and he quickly backtracked, "But don't feel as though you have to tell me anything! If it's personal, I won't pry, I-"

Marianne stopped Bog from stumbling anymore by placing her hand on his arm. Bog shut his mouth and stared with wide eyes at her.

"I don't often say the reason because it _is_ personal. But I feel as though you understand me, better than anyone ever has before. So I don't mind telling you. The truth is that I met a guy. He seemed wonderful at the time, but he didn't appreciate all the things I did, like singing. I stopped singing for a while."

Marianne stopped for a moment, preparing herself for the next part. Finally, she said, "But when he told me that he didn't want me to finish college, that I could stay at home and just take care of kids and do nothing else, I dumped him. I had agreed to marry him at the end of my junior year, and he tried to talk me into a bunch of things that summer. But when he said that, I left him. I joined an acapella group and started singing again, in honor of my mother."

"You did the right thing, Tough Girl," said Bog in awe. "I wish I had your spirit. When I was told by a female critic that I admired that I had no hope of ever being any good with singing, I just stopped for years. I didn't want to do anything."

"What made you come back and do this?" asked Marianne with interest as she leaned in.

"My friends, the ones you saw earlier, convinced me to do this thing a couple years ago. They knew how much I liked singing and Halloween, and they both are natural comedians. It worked out."

"That's nice," said Marianne.

A happy silence fell over the pair, both staring at one another with new eyes. They might have stayed that way for a long time were it not for a creaking noise. Both perked up upon hearing the sound, giving one another questioning looks, when suddenly a counterweight above the curtains fell down in front of them, just inches from them. Both jumped up, Marianne leaping into Bog's arms.

"Bog? What just happened?" she whispered.

"I'm not sure, Marianne. I'm scared," he said, pulling her closer.

"Me too," said Marianne, enjoying the closeness.

"A-ha! Scared you both!"

Both jumped again when Dawn, Sunny, Stuff, and Thang all appeared from behind the back curtains, triumphant grins in place.

"Look who's scared now, scaredy cats!" yelled Dawn.

"Yeah, scaredy cats!" replied Stuff and Thang excitedly at first.

Both Bog and Marianne let go of one another and stalked toward their friends. As one, they said, "Just because you got me once doesn't mean you win. Just you wait."

Upon seeing the identical stormy looks full of promises of retribution, all four fled the scene. When Dawn and Sunny were far enough away, they stopped, panting for breath.

"Do you think it worked?" asked Dawn.

"I think so," said Sunny. "They were all over one another. They're sure to start dating now."

"I hope so. They're so cute together," said Dawn dreamily. "If only I could find someone special like that."

"Well, you never know, maybe there is someone that wants to be that special someone, er, out there," stammered Sunny, not sure how to admit his feelings.

"What are you trying to say, Sunny? Do you like me?"

Dawn leaned in to Sunny's blushing face, and when she saw that he did, she smiled.

"Why didn't you say so, sooner? I've been hoping you would say something for months!"

At that, Dawn kissed Sunny. All was right with the world.

In another part of the party, Stuff and Thang gave each high fives and kissed.

"Just wait until Griselda hears about the way he held that girl," snickered Stuff.

"They're going to be so cute together!" responded Thang with glee.

Meanwhile, back onstage, Bog and Marianne turned to face one another, only to remember how close they had been to one another. Both opened their mouths like fish and then shut them just as fast. They lifted up hands to speak, but nothing came out. They walked in circles, heads down and trying to avoid one another.

When the couple ended up running head first into the other, Bog grabbed Marianne to stabilize her. Marianne smiled, making Bog relax at once.

"So, you wanna work together to think of something extra big and special to scare those four as payback?" asked Marianne with a grin.

"You bet," said Bog, eager to help.

"Good," said Marianne, leaning in to kiss Bog. Marianne had enjoyed their close moment, and it was clear that Bog was not going to try anything with her, even if he did smile like an idiot.

Bog froze as she kissed him, but when she lingered, he tentatively kissed back. That kiss turned into a ten minute long kiss fest before they finally remembered themselves and where they were.

"So, about that drink?" tried Marianne.

"Yes, that drink. We both lost, so let's each buy one another one and plot our revenge," said Bog, putting a hand behind his head with uncertainty.

The two went to the bar and sat down. Once they had drinks, they toasted.

"To revenge," said Marianne, smiling at Bog.

"To working together," he responded in kind, taking Marianne's free hand.

"For a long time to come," added Marianne, squeezing his hand.

"To Halloween!" they said in unison.

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 **Author's Notes: And there's a cheesy Halloween story for you. I imagine both Bog and Marianne getting competitive about scaring people and enjoying Halloween. I really just wanted to have an excuse to make both groups act out those songs, as I love them, and thought that they fit decently. Happy belated Halloween! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!**


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